Cross-canon counterpart
Cross-canon counterparts are similar characters that appear in different parts of the Pokémon canon.
As a franchise with so many different forms of canon, Pokémon is famous for having multiple iterations of the same or similar characters, most of which have basis in the games' main and rival characters. The characters in each form of the Pokémon canon which are closely related in their design will most often be recognizable in any of their forms, and may have similar relations to other characters with or without counterparts.
For example, both Red and Ash are from Pallet Town, live with their mother, receive a starter Pokémon from Professor Oak, and begin their journey one step behind their rivals, Blue and Gary. However, Red and Ash do not coexist, nor do Blue and Gary, as they are restricted to their specific canons.
Various other characters have differences between their game and alternate versions, such as Brock and Misty in the anime, and Wally in the Pokémon Special manga. However, they are not truly different enough to be considered as separate individuals.
List of cross-canon counterparts
This list is based on the game characters, as they appear first.
Red's counterparts
- Ash Ketchum from Pokémon anime, Electric Tale of Pikachu manga and Ash & Pikachu manga
- Red from Pokémon Special manga
- Isamu "Red" Akai from Pocket Monsters, Pokémon RS and Pokémon DP manga
- Red from Pokémon RS (appeared in one chapter. He's very similar to Isamu and he is based on the Generation III design of Red)
- Satoshi from Pokémon Zensho manga
- Red from Pokémon 4Koma manga
- Shū from Pokémon Get da ze! manga
- Pokémon Trainer from Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Blue's counterparts
- Gary Oak from Pokémon anime, Electric Tale of Pikachu manga and Ash & Pikachu manga
- Green from Pokémon Special manga
- Kai "Green" Midorikawa from Pocket Monsters manga
- Shigeru from Pokémon Zensho manga
- Rival from Pokémon 4Koma manga
Leaf's counterparts
- Blue from Pokémon Special manga
- Blue from Pokémon RS
Gold's counterparts
- Jimmy from Pokémon anime
- Gold from Pokémon Special manga
- Kinnosuke from Pocket Monsters manga
- Gold from Golden Boys manga
Silver's counterparts
- Silver from Pokémon anime, who made a brief cameo in the Japanese opening of The Legend of Thunder
- Silver from Pokémon Special manga
- Ginjirō from Pocket Monsters manga
- Black from Golden Boys manga
Kris's counterparts
- Marina from Pokémon anime
- Crystal from Pokémon Special manga
- Chris from Golden Boys manga
Brendan's counterparts
- Brendan from Pokémon anime, who made brief cameos in the sixth, ninth and eleventh movies.
- Ruby from Pokémon Special manga
- Rald from Pokémon Battle Frontier manga
- Ruby from Pokémon RS manga
May's counterparts
- May from Pokémon anime and Ash & Pikachu manga
- Sapphire from Pokémon Special manga
- Sapphire from Pokémon RS manga
- Haruka from Pokémon Chamo-Chamo ☆ Pretty ♪ manga
Lucas's counterparts
- Lucas from Pokémon anime, who made a brief cameo in the eleventh movie.
- Diamond from Pokémon Special manga
- Hareta from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure! manga
- "Game Protagonist" from Pokémon DP manga
Dawn's counterparts
- Dawn from Pokémon anime
- Platinum from Pokémon Special manga
- Mitsumi from Pokémon DP manga
Pearl's counterparts
- Barry from the Pokémon anime
- Pearl from Pokémon Special manga
- Jun from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure! manga
- Kazuki (一輝) from Pokémon DP manga
